"UEFA is really not a thing, even Arsenal! I, a non-Arsenal fan, feel distressed! ”

"After playing Barcelona, Real Madrid will continue to play Bayern, UEFA is afraid that Arsenal will be able to play a few more games in the knockout round."

"Does Bayern have anything to say this season? Real Madrid and Barcelona, who defeated Arsenal in the first round of the Champions League knockout round, won the Champions League in the end. ”

"It's up to Real Madrid and Bayern this year, Barcelona's forward line still needs to be strengthened, Messi can't always play in the middle, it's too wasteful."

"Bayern will definitely be able to succeed in revenge, this year Real Madrid's midfield is without Li Ang, hmph, wash your neck and wait!"

……

The draw for the first round of the Champions League knockout round is over, but the discussion among fans from all over the world about the draw ceremony has just begun.

The old unlucky Arsenal has naturally become the object of pity for countless fans.

Perhaps Wenger himself does not know whether he has inadvertently offended the UEFA hierarchy or whether Arsenal's luck is really so bad.

In the past four seasons, they have drawn three clubs in the first round of the Champions League knockout round!

If UEFA didn't make any fuss in it, then Arsenal's luck was really bad.

After all, in addition to their matchup with Bayern, the only strong dialogue drawn from this year's Champions League draw is the duel between Manchester City and Barcelona.

The other big teams have basically drawn their more satisfactory opponents, including Chelsea.

Grand Paris did well in the Champions League last season.

But after losing Ibrahimovic this season, they did not even compete for Olympiacos in the group stage, and could only finish second in the group.

In the six group games, the strength shown by Grand Paris has fluctuated too much, and it is not at all a strong team that has played consistently.

Chelsea, who have been strong in both the Champions League and the Premier League, are now widely regarded by fans as the top team in Europe this season.

Therefore, in the Champions League knockout match between Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain, the vast majority of fans are more optimistic about Chelsea's easy pass.

There are also few fans who think that Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain are the same team.

However, although the strength is not at the same level, there are no more highlights of the two teams fighting.

After all, in the first team of Paris Saint-Germain, there are many former Real Madrid players who previously played for Real Madrid.

Khedira, who was purged from the team by Mourinho, still complains to the media from time to time 272.

and now Gonzalo Higuain, the current top star of Paris's striker.

These are Mourinho's former disciples and Leon's former teammates.

Coupled with the friendly relationship between Diego Silva and Leon Ibrahimovic, Ibrahimovic was the biggest contributor to Paris Saint-Germain's Champions League semi-finals last year...

The relationship between the two teams is really deep enough!

Among them, there are old friends reunited, and there are also enemies who don't deal with each other.

The contradiction between Li Ang and 272 was still quite big in La Liga back then.

Over the years, whenever Li Ang thanked his former teammates, he would directly ignore 272, as if he was dead.

And 272 never hid his hatred for Leon.

Perhaps until now, he still firmly believes that it was Leon who took away the Real Madrid starting position and championship honor that should have belonged to him.

After all, in the past few years, he has complained to the media either by himself or through his father.

However, Leon has never paid attention to his speeches, and even if he knows his strange speeches, he may still treat him as pure fun and jokes.

Also, this duel opportunity, Li Ang has been waiting for a long time!

I couldn't meet him before, so there's no need to talk about him again.

But now that he was lucky, Li Ang's mind suddenly came alive.

On the night of the draw ceremony, Li Ang pondered how to greet his former teammate.

However, there are still more than two months to go before the start of the 1/8 knockout round of the Champions League, so Li Ang is just thinking about it for the time being.

More focus will be on the upcoming EFL Cup and Premier League.

After beating current relegation rivals Crystal Palace 3-0 the day before yesterday, Chelsea have finished all the soft persimmons in the first half of the league.

In the first 16 rounds of the Premier League, Chelsea achieved a record of 13 wins, 2 draws and 1 defeat, which is not a luxury.

But in the next three league games, Chelsea face Arsenal, Swansea and Liverpool.

There is also a crucial EFL Cup quarter-knockout game against Stoke City before the league battle begins!

From December 17th to December 29th.

In those 13 days, Chelsea have played a total of four games!

It's a tough schedule and a tough task, but Chelsea have to endure it.

withstood it, the English League Cup advanced to the semi-finals, and the sword pointed to February, and the league could end perfectly in the halfway.

If you can't stand it, if you play extra time with Stoke City, you won't be able to tell the winner from Arsenal.

In the final moments, Chelsea may be able to be overtaken by Arsenal again.

Morale is a very mysterious thing, but that's how it is, as the saying goes, if you don't get angry, you will naturally pull your crotch if you can't drum it.

Leon was rarely serious and nervous, and Mourinho almost slept directly in the base's tactical conference room with his team.

He had to make a tactical plan as far in advance as possible, and the preparation time for the rest of the game was already short, and the game was one game after another.

In the closing stages of the first half, they faced the hard-nosed Sky City, currently second in the Premier League, fourth in the Premier League and tenth in the Premier League.

The fans must have watched it well, but with these four games to play in 13 days, the pressure on Chelsea is indeed too great!

"Actually, we are still six points ahead of Arsenal and Manchester City, so we have two wins, otherwise we ......

Ruiz, who was rubbing his temples in the conference room, made his own suggestion, but Mourinho interrupted him without thinking.

"Nope! We can't take that into account, let alone let the players know that we are making such an assumption!

This is not a direct conversation with Everton, Southampton and Manchester United.

These teams are not our real competitors this season either.

Against teams like Arsenal and Liverpool that can really threaten us at the top of the table, we can't afford to retreat!

We take a step back, they take a step forward, this time they let it, so the next time we encounter this kind of schedule, do we let it or not? ”

Jose Mourinho's words set the tone for the tactical meeting.

Chelsea's entire coaching staff were quick to unify their tactical thinking first.

Since they want Huashan to go all the way to the end, they don't talk too much about what will happen if they lose and lose.

Going all out to ponder the opponent's tactical weaknesses and squad weaknesses has become their most important preparation.

And when that determination to play was passed on by the coaching staff to all the players in the Chelsea first team.

Chelsea tightened the clockwork and threw themselves into the preparations.

For Chelsea's opponents, of course. There is also a lot of pressure on them to challenge the top team in this tight schedule.

Stoke City, which bore the brunt of the game, ushered in the 1/4 knockout round battle with Chelsea on the evening of December 17 in a solemn and tense pre-match atmosphere!

They drew 0-0 with Chelsea at their home stadium Britannia 10 days earlier.

But that draw didn't give them enough confidence right now.

Because everyone knows that there was no reason for Chelsea to fight them to the death in that game.

It wasn't so much that they fought for a draw with Chelsea, but that Mourinho opted to let the team's main veterans continue to rest, and they also opted for a draw.

Ten days have now passed, and Chelsea's key veterans have been given plenty of rest.

In the last league game against Crystal Palace, Frank Lampard and Ibrahimovic were both substituted by Jose Mourinho after taking a 2-0 lead at half-time.

Therefore, in this round of the English League Cup, Stoke City has to face a main force, and there are enough reasons to beat their full Chelsea!

There is a lot of pressure on both the Stoke City players and their manager Mark Hughes.

However, the EFL Cup has already reached the final eight, and it is impossible to eliminate it lightly in any case.

One step further, it will be the semi-finals, and it will only be two more opponents away from winning the championship!

Stoke City's current tactics also happen to be a cup game, and it will be difficult to win the EFL Cup, but there is always a chance.

In the 10-11 season, relegated teams Birmingham beat Arsenal to win the EFL Cup.

It is a very good case for teams in the middle and lower reaches of the Premier League to defeat the strong by the weak.

So even under tremendous pressure, the Stoke City players still have high hopes in their hearts to create a real miracle at home!

What if, what if they get past this Chelsea hurdle?

And who else in the back of the road could they worry about?!

The nervous and excited Stoke City players finally stepped onto the big stage against Chelsea with such an idea!

And after the official start of the night's game, the whole Stoke City team instantly felt that Chelsea took this game seriously.

Chelsea, who offered a 4231 starting formation, did not rush forward to attack at the beginning.

Instead, after steadily gaining control of the midfield, he slowly pushed forward and launched an offensive test against Stoke City from two flanks.

Li Ang even played at the back at the beginning of the game today, and he and Matic controlled the middle of the midfield to the death!

Mourinho told Mark Hughes very clearly with this starting arrangement:

Today, don't you want to smash my midline with a set of high balls, I will directly put my henchmen in front of my big penalty area, this way is not working!

Chelsea, who defended and controlled well, were very secure on the pitch.

Steadily encroaching on the midfield space, and also steadily and slowly suppressing Stoke City tactically!

Stoke City, who are not willing to go with Chelsea's rhythm, will of course fight back.

However, in the past, they used Crouch as the fulcrum of the frontcourt, and the counter-attacking style of playing high did not work well today.

Crouch was a great height, but his light weight was holding him back.

Even if his ability to fight is actually not weak.

However, in the face of the resolute defense of Leon and Nemanja Matic, it was difficult for him to be able to stand up and win the long ball from his teammates.

From a certain point of view, Crouch is proud enough of his tactical value.

can be treated by Leon and Matic, the current Premier League's No. 1 midfield defensive group, and he Crouch is the first person!

But for Mark Hughes, the situation is pretty bad.

After all, Crouch is not a prolific shooter, and his tactical value is more important than his scoring ability.

And in Stoke City's frontcourt offensive system, Crouch can't play his pivotal role.

Stoke's counter-attack push was a complete bubble.

After all, the high-altitude ball can't land stably, so what's the point of playing a long pass and counterattacking?

Only 20 minutes into the first half, Mark Hughes could already see it.

Mourinho would rather sacrifice a little more initiative in the offensive end and strangle the most important part of Stoke City's counter-attacking system first!

Like the managers of other mid-to-lower Premier League teams, he complained about Mourinho's perverted pursuit of central defense at this moment!

A defensive combination like Nemanja Matic and Leon is nothing short of a football bug!

What kind of offensive player, they can both defend.

There is no unpacking on the team, and they are separated to do one-on-one individual defense, and their ability in this area is also extremely strong!

After watching it for a long time, Mark Hughes, who really couldn't think of a way to break the game, could only consider changing to another offensive mode in the end.

That is for Arnautovic to take over the responsibility of counter-attacking.

"Austrian Ibrahimovic" is far from the strong goalscoring ability of the genuine Ibrahimovic on Chelsea's side.

But his sideways and technical skills are enough to lead the attack of a team like Stoke City in the middle and lower reaches of the Premier League.

Mark Hughes wants the Austrian striker to make more use of his ball-handling ability in attack to help Stoke City tear apart Chelsea's defence.

In this case, even use Crouch as a tactical bait.

Stoke City have one season left in their front line, and Walters, who can score in double figures, can finish the finishing shot.

But Arnautovic doesn't just want to be a green leaf for others.

After getting more of the ball, he wanted to be the absolute focus of the game with his foot skills, just like the young Ibrahimovic back then.

He also went straight from a change point on Stoke's counter-attack to a possession-losing maniac.

After all, the Chelsea defenders on his side are Leon and Branislav Ivanovic!

The two took turns pitting Arnautovic.

This kid didn't even have a steady offensive push to complete a few times, and he frequently fell on the turf.

And just when Stoke City's counterattack failed repeatedly, Chelsea used their patience to slowly show their sharp fangs in the attacking end!

Eden Hazard, who didn't play much in the last round of the matchup, became a well-deserved protagonist of Chelsea's attack in today's game.

When he has enough attacking possession, Ibrahimovic and Frank Lampard are there for him.

He's the most devastating super winger in the Premier League right now!

Perhaps in terms of the visual scene of attacking the opponent's defence, Hazard and Bale, who switched to Real Madrid this summer window, cannot be compared.

However, in terms of tactical effect, Hazard's superb dribbling ability is better than Bale, and he can continue to break through and create chances in tight spaces.

That's pretty impressive.

There isn't much space to break through dense defenses and force threats.

Messi is the first player to do the best job in today's football, and Hazard is one of the top players of this kind under Messi's sole block.

Throughout the first 30 minutes of the first half, Stoke City's defending Eden Hazard's side of Nzunzi and full-back Camron were passed over and over again.

According to Stoke's past style, there will be some rough tactical fouls at this point.

However, perhaps thinking of the previous scene of Chelsea's tough response to West Ham United, Stoke City could only endure it again and again.

The defensive moves are big, but not to the point of lethal tactics.

The intensity of the confrontation is still within his acceptable range for Hazard.

Therefore, his breakthrough has been tried and tested, and he has also created many threats on the offensive end.

It's a shame that Ibrahimovic and Frank Lampard had two shots on goal in the Stoke City penalty area today.

And Hazard, who saw that he missed two assists, was also very depressed.

It wasn't until the 34th minute of the first half that Leon actively stepped forward from the back, and Hazard saw another great attacking opportunity!

Frank Lampard's cross from the side allowed Leon to carry the ball further into Stoke's defensive heart in a relatively loose defensive environment.

Seeing this, Ibrahimovic also pulled out of the big penalty area of Stoke City and came to answer Leon.

The possible connection between the two immediately made the Stoke City backfield defense a little confused.

At this time, Li Ang quickly sent a straight plug to his right front!

De Bruyne, who had not played much before, finally got a rare opportunity to pull the side cross.

He had already adjusted his pace to run before the football was in front of him, and then he directly completed a big arc cross without stopping!

Ibrahimovic, who had accelerated at the back of the Stoke City penalty area, suddenly became the object of attention of all Stoke City defenders!

Shawcross's aggressive grappling left Ibrahimovic unable to hold his position and head straight at goal.

However, Ibrahimovic, who has been keeping an eye on Leon's movement, also has an attacking option of header crossing.

After flanking off Shawcross's defensive interference, Ibrahimovic headed the ball directly to Leon, who was moving in the middle of the Stoke City penalty area.

This is a return ball, and Leon's position is not too good, but there is still an opportunity and possibility to deal with the ball in the end.

In the face of Stoke City's other central defender, Mark Wilson's close defense, Leon subconsciously chose to jam the attacking position first.

In the middle of the penalty area, this position is entangled by the opponent, and it is basically impossible to hit the goal directly.

The header is even more, it doesn't rush up, and the header that goes out has no speed and power.

After instantly vetoing the two ways of attacking the goal in his mind, Li Ang's vision suddenly caught a glimpse of a blue figure standing on the edge of the big penalty area......

"Leon has taken the spot! He's going to... Header swing back again! Hazard! ”

Zhan Jun exclaimed in the studio, and at this moment, all the Chinese fans also looked at Hazard who received the pass from Li Ang!

The Belgian winger finally got the chance he had been looking for in the first half!

There is nothing more to hesitate about.

Stop the ball and adjust his pace, then hit his best right-footed shot!

Begovic was still distracted by too many offensive and defensive players in front of him.

And the angle of Hazard's shot is too tricky!

By the time Begovic saw the trajectory of the football, it was too late to make a save!

The football hangs in the top right corner of the Stoke City goal!

And the Chelsea players who managed to break the balance of the game also saw a clear prospect of qualifying for the final four of the EFL Cup!

The 20,000 Stoke City fans at Britannia Stadium were flustered at this moment.

Because this season Chelsea scored first, and in the end, Chelsea won the game!

Mourinho is very scary and cunning after taking the lead, and Stoke City fans are convinced of this.

Of course, Mourinho soon made his own tactical adjustments to further deepen the anxiety of Stoke City fans.

"Back to the defense! All back to defense! Don't let even a single mosquito fly into our exclusion zone! ”

Mourinho's unabashed excitement encouraged his disciples.

And Mark Hughes, who was standing not far from him, only felt noisy and headache when he heard his words.

The situation on the pitch changed abruptly, with Chelsea on the defensive side and Stoke City on the offensive side.

It's a pity that Stoke City don't have a strong attacking point that can consistently tear apart Chelsea's defence, let alone a midfield core that can break the balance of attack and defense on the pitch.

So they didn't get anything for the rest of the first half except a long-range attempt.

With a one-goal lead, the Chelsea team went into the break contentedly.

And after the start of the second half, Mark Hughes looked at Chelsea still in a posture of continuing to defend to the death, and his whole heart was cold.

Mourinho, of course, did something that led by only one goal and then stuck to the whole game.

Not only did he do this kind of thing, but he did it many times, and he was able to do it very well!

So Mark Hughes is in a hurry, and so are the players in Stoke City.

Even in the first fifteen minutes of the second half, Stoke City was still calm.

But as soon as the game went over 60 minutes, Stoke City were no longer in a position to negotiate terms with Chelsea.

Stoke City began to press forward aggressively.

And De Bruyne also came out of the sheath in the 77th minute of the second half!

The suspense of the game was completely ended when he sent Ibrahimovic to the game with a diagonal pass over the top of more than 30 meters to extend the team's lead to two goals.

At full-time, it was not Eden Hazard and Ibrahimovic who scored the goal of the man who were named the best players of the game.

It's Leon who played more on the defensive end than on the offensive end throughout the game!

He made six effective interceptions, 11 tackles, and one key clearance, making a total of 84 passes and completing 77 of them, with a pass completion rate of about 92 per cent, plus two threatening passes and an assist......

Leon's perfect offensive and defensive performance once again impressed countless Premier League fans.

And for the whole Chelsea team, after reaching the last four of this season's EFL Cup, it is time for them to set a small goal for the season.

Let's have a good time with an EFL Cup title first!

(End of chapter)